Store Up Goodness

Store Up Goodness

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:19-20

What do you save? I have boxes of things—old cheerleading uniforms, my grandma’s recipes, and crafts and photos from my kids’ toddler years. Few Amish collect material goods, but you will often find a cellar filled with pickles, beets, peaches, and apple pie filling. Women usually can together, turning the chore into a time to spend with family or friends. Just imagine the joy when on a long February day you pull out a jar of peaches that taste as fresh as the day you canned them.

Most Amish can hundreds of quarts of food every year, partly because it keeps food costs down. Canning also allows the produce preserved from their gardens to last through the year.

In addition to food from their own gardens, many women buy additional produce from local farmers. Canning may seem like a lot of work, and it is, but it saves money and cuts down on trips to the grocery store.

I know how contented and “stocked up” I feel after a big trip to the grocery store. I imagine the feeling of being rich with a harvest of blessing would radiate within me if I filled my basement shelves with food I had grown and canned for my family.

Where does your treasure lie? Does your provision come from basement shelves stocked with canned food or clothes you’ve sewn with your own hands? Those can be wonderful things, but our greatest wealth comes from our faith. Talking about the goodness of God as one cans stores up even more value than the canning itself. Our treasure isn’t in what we line our shelves with; it’s in our relationship with the Savior and the people we’ll enjoy for eternity.

Heavenly Father, too often I look at the work of my hands and take pride in all I’ve accomplished. I enjoy gathering up treasure to feed and provide for my family, but remind me again where my true treasure lies.